Y9 English poetry anthology points?

Quotes for the schoolboy

‘born for joy’ ‘a cage’ ‘ forget his youthful spring’ ‘if buds are nip’d’ ‘ under a cruel eye outworn’ repetition of summer morn in different context ‘ love to rise’ ‘ but to go to school’

Quotes for Sonnet 29

“ I think of thee’ ‘ twine and bud’ ‘wild vines’ ‘ renew’ ‘rustle’ ‘ i do not think of thee’ ‘ deep joy’ ‘ breathe’ ‘new air’

Quotes for Catrin

‘ hot, white room’ ‘the traffic lights’ ‘ tight red rope of love’ ‘ ' to be two' ' clouded with feelings' ' that old rope' ' in the dark'

Quotes for Blackberry picking

‘Late August’ ‘ for the full week’ ‘ tinkling’ ‘ trecked’ ‘ summer’s blook’ scratched’ ‘bleached’ ’hoarded’ ‘ rat-grey fungus’ ‘ each year i hoped’ ‘they would not ‘ always felt like crying’

Quotes from Dusting the phone

‘ imaging the worst’ ‘ disaster’ ‘sirens’ ‘ empty cup’ ‘i try ‘ doesn’t work’ ‘ silver service’ ‘ infuriatingly’ ‘ it sends me’ ‘ all the time’ ‘ ring me’

Quotes from Cousin Kate

‘ cottage maiden’, ‘ great lord’ , ‘sun and air’, woe’s me for joy thereof’, ‘ shameless shameful life’, ‘ plaything and his love’, ‘unclean thing’ ‘ dove’, ‘good and pure’, ‘ outcast thing’ , ‘ sit and howl in dust’, ‘ sit in gold and sing’, ‘ tenderer heart’, ‘stronger wing’ ‘ seem not like to get’ ‘my shame, my pride’

Quotes from origin story

‘This is true’, ‘west, nineteen’, ‘cared for her children’,’ lived in a friends house’, ‘sleeveless’, ‘seventeen’, ‘ drew comic books’ ‘ love is like a comic book’ ‘ clumsy ways we can’ ‘ never meant to last’ ‘ might find its way to another decade’ ‘ dark rooms and boxes’ ‘ love is paper’ ‘ never saw polyvinyl’, ‘ memorized, mishandled, worn thin, staples rusted’ ‘ a love like that doesn’t last’ ‘but it is a good ending’

Form and structure for the schoolboy

5 lines per stanza following a ababb rhyme scheme the 1 extra line could reflect the dragging school day, no fixed metre suggest desire for freedom.

Form and structure for Cousin Kate

ballad form which is traditionally sung reflecting her emotions, and how she processes grief, turning her pain into something rhythmic contrasting hidden vindictive feelings. volta in final stanza ‘ my shame, my pride’ claiming power.

Form and structure for Sonnet 29

enjambement mirroring the ‘ wild vines’ symbolising how the speakers feelings are tangled and uncontrollable

Form and structure for Catrin

free verse no regular rhyme scheme relecting the complexity and imperfect nature of their relationship, 1 stanza on birth and struggle, 2nd stanza ongoing conflict and connection suggesting that love and conflict coexist and ending with no resolution saying they will always be problems

Form and structure for Blackberry picking

longer 1st stanza on excitement and joy 2nd on disgust and disappointment contrast, enjambement reflecting the speakers love of blackberry picking/ childhood, 2nd stanza less enjambement suggesting disappointment,

Form and structure for Dusting the phone

ending with no resolution reflecting speakers ongoing emotional turmoil short sentences abrupt thoughts, inability to focus, enjambement showing restlessness and anxiety, caesura creates tension and doubt, repetition of phrases or words emphasizes obsession

Form and structure for origin story

free verse representing spontaneous relationship, lack of capital letters mirroring rebellious nature

Context from Schoolboy

William Blake was a Romantic poet who believed in the power of imagination, the beauty of nature, and the importance of personal and societal freedom. He opposed the strict control of institutions like school and church, which he saw as repressing the natural joy and curiosity of children. The Schoolboy, from his collection Songs of Experience (1794), critiques the formal education system and reflects Blake’s belief that childhood should be a time of emotional and spiritual freedom, not restriction.

Context from Cousin Kate

Rossetti was a devout Christian and a key Victorian poet. She was deeply concerned with social injustice and often challenged the double standards women faced, particularly around purity and sexuality. In Cousin Kate, Rossetti criticises the way women were judged more harshly than men for having sex outside marriage. She even volunteered with a charity that supported so-called "fallen women," helping them find domestic work and restore dignity.

Context from Sonnet 29

Browning wrote this sonnet as part of a sequence of 44 intimate love poems during her secret courtship with the poet Robert Browning. Her strict father disapproved of the relationship, so the poems reflect both deep longing and emotional intensity. Eventually, she defied her father and eloped with Robert. The poem explores passionate romantic love and the overpowering presence of the beloved, even in absence

Context from Catrin

Clarke’s Catrin is autobiographical, exploring the complex emotional bond between a mother and daughter. It reflects on the moment of childbirth and the ongoing tension between love and independence as a child grows. Clarke captures the physical and emotional struggle of letting go, while still feeling a deep sense of attachment and protectiveness.

Context from Blackberry picking

Heaney grew up in a rural Catholic farming family in Northern Ireland. His poetry often reflects the natural world, childhood memories, and themes of loss and transience. Blackberry-Picking uses vivid, sensory imagery to explore the excitement and eventual disappointment of growing up — a metaphor for how innocence and pleasure can be short-lived.

Context from Dusting the phone

Kay wrote this poem in 1993, a time when phones were still landlines, making romantic communication less immediate and more uncertain. The poem expresses emotional anxiety, longing, and the unpredictability of love. The speaker waits desperately for a call, reflecting the obsessive side of modern relationships. The frustration is heightened by the limited technology of the time.

Context from Origin story

Ewing’s poem is autobiographical and reflects on her parents’ relationship, which ultimately ended. Despite this, she expresses pride and admiration for their love, portraying it as spontaneous, passionate, and deeply meaningful. By comparing their relationship to a superhero origin story, she highlights how their love — even though it didn’t last — created her, and therefore had a “good ending.”